Static user input interfaces, such as those on a typical television remote control or on a mobile phone, provide users with one user interface that locks the interaction modes available between the device and the user. Devices with a static user input interface that may be used with a variety of applications also become very complicated because the static user input interface must be compatible with each application. In the case of universal remotes, user interaction may become very confusing for the user because of the abundance of buttons available that may either provide dual functionality between devices or are extraneous for any one particular device. In the case of mobile devices, such as a cellular phone with multiple functionalities that uses a static user input interface, adapting the available static user input interface to the plurality of functionalities of the device is also challenging. Additionally, as mobile devices become smaller and more powerful, functionality of the device may be severely hindered by a static user input interface.
Touch sensitive displays, e.g., touch screens, are able to provide a dynamic user input interface and are very useful in applications where the user interface is applied to a variety of uses, for example, in a universal remote where the user interface may change to adapt to the device that is being controlled by the user or in a cellular phone with multiple functionalities. However, unlike a static user input interface with a dedicated input device, such as a keypad with discrete well-defined keys, most touch sensitive displays are generally flat. As a result, touch sensitive displays do not provide any of the tactile guidance that may be seen in static user interfaces.
Hence, serious drawbacks exist in current commonly available user interfaces. In the case of a static user input interface, there is the benefit of tactile guidance but the serious drawback of inability to adapt to an application type. In the case of a touch sensitive display, there is the benefit of an adaptable display and dynamic user input interface but the serious drawback of no tactile guidance, resulting in incorrectly entered keystrokes and the need for the user to keep his or her eyes on the display. The importance of tactile guidance is readily apparent in the competition between the Apple iPhone and the Blackberry 8800. Additionally, with many touch sensitive displays, each touch made by the user is registered with the system, preventing the user from resting his or her finger on the surface of the display. In some touch sensitive displays, the reliance on the change in capacitance due to the presence of a finger at a location as the occurrence of a user input results in the inability for the touch sensitive display to detect user inputs when the user is wearing a glove or when other barriers between a finger and the screen are present.
This invention provides a new and useful user interface that combines many of the advantages of the benefits of a static user input interface and many of the advantages of a dynamic user input interface.